COLUMBIA - Political committees used by leading House Republicans to
raise money for elections are raking in the cash, but some lawmakers are
trying to outlaw their controversial fund-raising tactics.
Three House GOP leadership political action committees raised nearly
$200,000 combined in the first quarter of 2006, according to documents
filed with the State Ethics Commission this week.
About half of that was posted by Labor, Commerce and Industry Chairman
Harry Cato, R- Travelers Rest. His Carolina Commerce Fund, formed six
months ago, raised $98,750 in large contributions in the first three
months of the legislative session.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, controls the largest
committee, the Palmetto Leadership Council. It
raised $64,000 in the first quarter and currently has $263,000 in the
bank, according to filings.
The hefty accounts are the product of a loophole in the state ethics
laws. A gap that a group of lawmakers wants to shut.
"Leadership PACs are violating the spirit of the ethics law," said Rep.
Dan Tripp, R-Mauldin. "There is rampant money in the system."
Tripp and 13 co-sponsors plan to introduce a bill today that would
effectively outlaw the leadership PACs by eliminating the language in the
ethics law that exempted them from the rules governing other campaign
committees.
The proposed legislation would forbid leadership PACs from contributing
to campaigns and prohibit independent expenditures, such as campaign
mailings. It would put them under the same basic regulations as a regular
campaign committee.
Typically, the money flows into these leadership PACs and then out to
other state lawmakers in $1,000 contributions, the maximum a lawmaker can
receive under state law. It allows powerful lawmakers to use their clout
to raise money from individuals, businesses and special interests to
support like-minded legislative allies.
In practice, the committees allow contributors to donate to a lawmaker
twice - once to their personal campaign account and once to the lawmaker's
PAC.
"I have a growing sense that over the last couple years that the money
chase has become the primary focus of legislators and these (leadership
PACs) are only exacerbating that," Tripp said.
The legislation is supported by Common Cause, a liberal government
watchdog group in Columbia. Executive Director John Crangle said three
leadership PACs disbanded in the last year, but three still exist.
"Leaders in the Legislature use them as a shake-down machine," he said.
"And Bobby Harrell is the worst offender."
Harrell disagrees that the committees are out of control. His Palmetto
Leadership Council is more than a PAC, he argues.
"We do more a little more than raise money and give it to candidates,"
Harrell said. "It's about trying to grow South Carolina's economy and
promoting legislators who agree with this goal."
The two other leadership PACs are controlled by Cato and House Ways and
Means Chairman Dan Cooper, R-Piedmont.
Cooper's S.C. Leadership PAC reported raising $29,300 in the first
three months of 2006 and spent $29,150 mostly in maximum contributions to
fellow House members.
The bulk of the contributions are $3,500 checks, the maximum allowed
under state law, from special interests with business before the
Legislature.
Raising money
Here's the amount of cash raised by the three active leadership
political action committees:
Name ... First quarter ... Cash on hand
Speaker Bobby Harrell's
Palmetto Leadership Council ... $64,000 ... $262,854
Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Dan Cooper's S.C. Leadership PAC ... $29,300 ...
$24,436
Labor Commerce and Industry Committee Chairman Harry Cato's
Rest Carolina Commerce Fund ... $98,750 ... $109,599
Reach John Frank at (803) 799-9051 or jbfrank@postandcourier.com.